She is now a Believer.

A lady of my acquaintance tells me it is marvellous how much these spirits seem to know.  On her very first visit, the spirit, through the voice of the medium—an elderly gentleman residing obscurely in Clerkenwell—informed her without a moment’s hesitation that she possessed a relative with the Christian name of George.  (I am not making this up—it is real.)  This gave her at first the idea that spiritualism was a fraud.  She had no relative named George—at least, so she thought.  But a morning or two later her husband received a letter from Australia.  “By Jove!” he exclaimed, as he glanced at the last page, “I had forgotten all about the poor old beggar.”

“Whom is it from?” she asked.

“Oh, nobody you know—haven’t seen him myself for twenty years—a third or fourth cousin of mine—George—”

She never heard the surname, she was too excited.  The spirit had been right from the beginning; she had a relative named George.  Her faith in spiritualism is now as a rock.

There are thousands of folk who believe in Old Moore’s Almanac.  My difficulty would be not to believe in the old gentleman.  I see that for the month of January last he foretold us that the Government would meet with determined and persistent opposition.  He warned us that there would be much sickness about, and that rheumatism would discover its old victims.  How does he know these things?  Is it that the stars really do communicate with him, or does he “feel it in his bones,” as the saying is up North?

During February, he mentioned, the weather would be unsettled.  He concluded:

“The word Taxation will have a terrible significance for both Government and people this month.”

Really, it is quite uncanny.  In March:

“Theatres will do badly during the month.”

There seems to be no keeping anything from Old Moore.  In April “much dissatisfaction will be expressed among Post Office employees.”  That sounds probable, on the face of it.  In any event, I will answer for our local postman.

In May “a wealthy magnate is going to die.”  In June there is going to be a fire.  In July “Old Moore has reason to fear there will be trouble.”

I do hope he may be wrong, and yet somehow I feel a conviction that he won’t be.  Anyhow, one is glad it has been put off till July.

In August “one in high authority will be in danger of demise.”  In September “zeal” on the part of persons mentioned “will outstrip discretion.”  In October Old Moore is afraid again.  He cannot avoid a haunting suspicion that “Certain people will be victimized by extensive fraudulent proceedings.”

In November “the public Press will have its columns full of important news.”  The weather will be “adverse,” and “a death will occur in high circles.”  This makes the second in one year.  I am glad I do not belong to the higher circles.